


Wait, This Was a Date?

by TheRev28



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project, ラブライブ! 虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会 | Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai (Anime)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Indirect Kiss, Rhythm Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:00:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27202834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRev28/pseuds/TheRev28
Summary: Rina doesn't want to go straight home after practice, so she and Ai hit up the arcade. Then get crepes afterwards. Does that mean they went on a date? Rina wishes she had known that ahead of time.
Relationships: Miyashita Ai/Tennouji Rina
Comments: 13
Kudos: 103





	Wait, This Was a Date?

Rina entered the clubroom to grab her bag after having changed out of her practice clothes. They were done for the day, so most everyone had left—only Setsuna, Ayumu, and Ai were still around. Setsuna and Ayumu sat together on one side of the room, each doing their own thing but very clearly sitting _together_. Ai sat near the middle of the room, on her phone. She looked very focused with the tip of her tongue just barely sticking out of her mouth, and Rina noticed her fingers moving very rapidly. Rina walked up behind her and saw she was playing a rhythm game. That explained it.

The song looked really hard, but Ai’s fingers moved methodically, and she hadn’t missed a single note since Rina started watching. It was mesmerizing, honestly. When the song ended, a “full combo” message came up, and Ai did a little fist pump. Rina quickly turned to the appropriate page on her board and brought it up to her face.

“Great job, Ai,” she said. “Rina-chan board says: ‘impressive’.” 

“Oh hey, Rinari!” Ai said, turning around and smiling that perfect smile that always made Rina’s heart flutter. “Sorry, I was so focused on getting the FC that I didn’t notice you there. How’s my best girlfriend doing?”

Rina’s heart skipped a beat. Even after a few weeks, she still hadn’t gotten used to the fact that they were _dating_ now. She was dating _Ai_ , the best, most popular girl in the whole school, the girl who was friends with everyone. And Ai liked her back. It was more than a dream come true, because Rina had never even thought to dream it in the first place.

“I don’t feel like going home yet,” Rina said. “Do you wanna go to the arcade? I heard they got a new rhythm game recently, and I’ve wanted to try it. Rina-chan board says: ‘excited’.”

“Sure! I’ve gotta stake my claim on the high scores as soon as I can, right?” Ai grinned.

“Not if I set it first. Rina-chan board says: ‘determined’.”

Ai laughed, and Rina wanted nothing more than to record it so she could listen to it whenever she wanted. “Ok, Rinari, you’re on!” she said, standing up. “How ‘bout the loser has to buy crepes afterwards?”

“Deal,” Rina said.

The two walked out of the school hand in hand. As usual, Ai seemed perfectly content to fill the silence all by herself, idly chatting about whatever she wanted to—classes, stuff her other friends did, things they passed by, anything. Sometimes Rina felt guilty that she didn’t contribute much, but Ai always reassured her that she didn’t mind. Still, though, Rina wanted to try being better about that, especially since they were dating. 

“And then some of the girls sitting next to me started talking about an anime I hadn’t heard of,” Ai said, continuing whatever train of thought she was on. Rina had been spacing out, but the mention of an anime brought her back. “Heh, it’s a good thing Settsu wasn’t around, or she’d have talked their ears off.”

“What show were they talking about?” Rina asked. Ai looked a little surprised that she’d actually said something, but responded easily enough.

“I think it was ‘something Wind’? Sorry, I wasn’t really listening that well.”

Rina thought that sounded super familiar. “Was it _Verdant Wind_?” 

Ai snapped her fingers. “That was it! I knew the name would blow me away when I heard it.”

A moment of silence set in as Ai looked towards Rina. Her eyes sparkled, and her smile steadily grew from a little grin to a full blown, Ai trademarked gleam. Rina simply switched her board to an unamused face.

“Rina-chan board says: ‘booooo’.”

That opened the floodgates, and Ai spent the next thirty seconds cracking up. Even in the face of such an awful pun, Rina couldn’t help but flip her board back to a smile at the sound of Ai’s laughter. Eventually the other girl regained her composure.

“Sorry, sorry,” she said, wiping away an imaginary tear. “So is this a show you really like?”

“Mmhmm. It’s really cool,” Rina said. She wanted to say more, but she didn’t really know what to say. It was a series she really did enjoy, but putting that into words was hard.

“Maybe I’ll have to check it out, then. It sounds like you’re super into it.”

Before Rina could answer, the couple arrived at the arcade. Since she knew where the new machines were, she took the lead. Luckily she had already scouted out the locations before, otherwise it was easy to get lost in the maze of flashing lights and constant noise. Quickly enough, she and Ai stood in front of the WACCA machines.

The play surface was a big cylinder with the screen in the middle. The notes could come from anywhere around the cylinder, creating a full 360° experience. You could also swipe into and out of the cylinder, making it 3D, too. It was the most interesting concept for a rhythm game Rina had seen in a while, and she desperately wanted to try it—hence this outing. She hoped Ai would like it, too.

After a few seconds of staring at the machines, Ai turned to Rina. “Oh Rinari, this looks so fun! It looks like it’ll be a workout, too, so maybe we could call this idol training.”

“It looks fun. Rina-chan board says: ‘super excited’.”

They took a minute to hash out the rules for their little wager. Eventually, they settled on a best two out of three. They’d each play the same song at the same time, and whoever scored higher won that round. Since neither had played these machines before, they didn’t know any of the maps, so neither had an advantage. They also got to play one warmup song to get used to the feel of the game. 

The warmup song was super fun, and Rina immediately knew this was her new favorite arcade game. Unfortunately, she had to put her board down to play, so when she turned to look at Ai after the first song, she knew her blank face was showing. Ai still smiled like she always did, though, and Rina’s heart beat just a little bit faster. 

“That was amazing!” Ai said. “And I haven’t seen you look that happy at a game in a long time.”

“It was a lot of fun,” Rina said, reaching down to grab her board. She started flipping to the page she knew she needed as she continued. “I’m ready to take you down. Rina-chan board says: ‘bring it on’.” 

“Alright, Rinari, let’s give it our all!” 

They started the first song, and Rina realized very quickly that it was more difficult than the warmup she’d chosen. She kept up well enough early on, racking up a pretty good combo. Then the first chorus hit, and the song took a complete left turn. She shifted focus from hitting combos to simply hitting notes. Thankfully, the second verse calmed down, and she was actually ready for the second chorus. She got through the song, but barely managed a “B” rank. Looking over, she saw that Ai had somehow managed an “A” rank. Ai smiled at Rina and gave her a quick “V” for victory. Rina determined to do better on the next song.

Song two started off easier than the first, more in line with the warmup. Rina had a full combo going through the first two verses and choruses. Unfortunately, she knew that if it were easy for her, it’d also be easy for Ai. The bridge and outro would make or break her score. It definitely ramped up in difficulty, but Rina had expected it and felt in the zone. Sure she missed some notes, but she ended the song with an “S” rank. Ai once again got an “A”.

“Heh, I didn’t expect the ending to pick up like that,” Ai said, rubbing the back of her neck. “By the time I recovered, the song was over.”

Rina quickly grabbed her board. “We’re tied,” she said, finding the right face. “It’s all on this. Rina-chan board says: ‘determined’.”

Ai just nodded, and they got into the final song—the one that would determine the outcome of their bet. It felt like a middle ground between the first two songs, only this time, the verses were the difficult parts. Still, Rina racked up some nice combos, even somehow FC-ing the second verse. The biggest hurdle was the bridge, but she got through it. And thankfully, the final chorus and outro padded her stats a bit more. When the score screen came up, she was greeted with an “A” ranking. Looking over, Ai had also gotten an “A”.

But Rina had scored 300 points higher. 

“I won,” Rina said. “Rina-chan board says: ‘hooray!’”

"Aw man, that was so close!" Ai said, looking between the two score screens. "Well, looks like crepes are on me. And honestly, that game worked up an appetite! I was sorta kidding earlier when I said it could be idol practice, but now I think I was actually onto something!"

"I'm hungry, too. Let's go eat."

The couple left the arcade, hand in hand, and made their way to a nearby crepe place that Ai knew about. They spent the short walk chatting more about the game—or rather, Ai chatted, and Rina listened. Still, it was the happiest Rina had felt since they started dating, and she made sure to keep her happy face showing on the board. 

Once they reached the store, Ai fulfilled her end of the bargain and bought crepes for both of them. She got a strawberry Nutella one, and Rina got a peaches and cream one. They walked to a nearby park to eat them outside, though both of them actually started eating on the way. 

“Mmmm, this is so good!” Ai said after taking a bite. “It’s so sweet, and it’s just what I needed after all that hard work. How’s yours, Rinari?”

“It’s good. Rina-chan board says: ‘yummy yummy’.”

“Can I try some? I’ll let you try mine in return!” 

Rina simply held out her crepe for Ai to try. Without hesitation, Ai took a bite from the same place Rina had, and her heart beat just a little faster. That was an indirect kiss. It was the closest they’d gotten to kissing so far, but Rina would be lying if she said she wasn’t curious. 

“Oh that’s just peachy! Definitely the cream of the crop.”

And just like that, Rina had to flip to her unamused face. She didn’t even bother saying anything, simply opting to stare at her girlfriend with the board. Once again, though, Ai laughed, and Rina couldn’t stay upset. 

“You owe me a bite of yours now,” Rina said. Even if she wasn’t upset, she should still get something for having to hear those puns. 

Still chuckling, Ai held out her own crepe for Rina to try. She stared at the spot where Ai had already eaten before slowly leaning in to take a bite from the same spot. The combination of strawberries and Nutella made it incredibly sweet, but the flavors were different enough that it still tasted really good. And really, she didn’t think the indirect kiss made much of a difference. Disappointing. She had hoped it would be more… something. Just more. It wasn’t all that manga made it out to be. Still, the crepe was good, and that’s what mattered.

They enjoyed the rest of their crepes in relative silence. It was nice. It was definitely better than simply going home after practice. 

“I had a lot of fun today,” Ai said, as if reading her girlfriend’s mind. “You’re really good at planning dates!”

Rina’s heart skipped a beat. “D-date? This was a date?” Rina asked. “I asked you out on a date? Rina-chan board says: ‘blush’.”

Ai laughed and wrapped her arm around Rina’s shoulder in a side hug. “Of course this was a date! We’re girlfriends, and we went out and had a lot of fun together! Isn’t that what a date is?”

“I… guess so.”

“Oh you’re so cute, Rinari. I just wanna give you a big smooch.”

Rina’s heart skipped two beats this time. Ai’s eyes widened, and a light blush dusted her cheeks. Before she could try to say anything else, though, Rina spoke up. 

“Y-you can… if you want to,” Rina said. She turned to a super secret page of her board, one she hadn’t let Ai help with. “Rina-chan board says: ‘k-kiss’.”

Even though her face was behind the board, Rina still looked away and closed her eyes. She could actually feel a blush on her own face. A silence hung between them, and her heart sounded impossibly loud inside her own ears. That was a mistake, she’d made a mistake, she’d gone too fast, but she didn’t know how she was supposed to know that, and now Ai would hate her, and she’d be sad because she couldn’t stand the thought of Ai being mad at her, and— 

A light force pressed against the board. It only lasted a moment before it pulled back, accompanied by a small “chu” noise. Ai had? Actually kissed the board? She lowered it and made direct eye contact with Ai. The taller girl was still leaned down a little, and the blush from before was even more pronounced. She had an embarrassed smile, and it was the cutest thing Rina had ever seen. 

Neither girl really knew what to do or say, so Ai slowly turned around to start walking back home. That’s when Rina realized that wasn’t the kiss she wanted. She didn’t want that to be the kiss Ai had to settle for. 

Rina reached out and grabbed the corner of Ai’s sleeve. Feeling the unexpected tug, Ai turned around. Rina kept the board at her side, closed her eyes, got up on her tiptoes, and pressed her lips against Ai’s. 

It wasn’t a long kiss, but it was her first, and Rina would remember it forever. She’d also not soon forget the stunned expression on Ai’s face. That shock transitioned into the softest, warmest, most loving smile Rina had ever seen. Feeling embarrassed that she couldn’t return an expression like that, she quickly flipped to a page and held the board back up.

“Rina-chan board says: ‘I love you’.”

“I could tell that without the board, Rinari.”

“You always can.”

**Author's Note:**

> All this was inspired by a fanart by @chisiuwu on twitter: <https://twitter.com/chisiuwu/status/1315007830634696704>  
> You should go check them out! All their art is super cute an fluffy.
> 
> Ai's always been second best Niji girl for me (behind Setsuna, obvs), and seeing her and Rina together in the anime so much has made the ship set sail for me. Chisi's art was just the icing on the cake.
> 
> Btw, the game they play is totally a real rhythm game in Japan, and it looks so fun. I want to try it so bad, but writing about it is the closest I can get in the near future.


End file.
